If the new Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite were a car, it might be said that the secret star is not the car itself, but what’s under the bonnet. However, the Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite is an e-road bike. You won’t find a bonnet on it. Here, the eye-catcher is hidden in the rear wheel hub. However, the actual ebike around it is also really impressive.
1. Rear hub motor SyncDrive Move Plus
2. Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite
3. Liv Avail Advanced E+ Elite
Carbon frame. Flexing seatpost and handlebars. Plenty of tyre clearance. Battery weighing just 2.3 kilograms with 400 watt hours. Electronic gears with additional buttons for even more comfortable shifting. There are many points one could start with when introducing the lightest ebike that Giant has ever put on the road. From our point of view, however, the rear hub motor deserves this little honour. After all, the SyncDrive Move Plus can do something that hardly any other motor of its type can.
1. Rear hub motor SyncDrive Move Plus
We first came across a rear hub motor from Giant a little over two years ago. Until then, the industry giant had focussed almost exclusively on mid-drive motors. With the Voya E+ from Momentum and e-mountainbikes for children from the Giant and Liv brands, it ventured into unfamiliar territory with the SyncDrive Move. Now the SyncDrive Move Plus is expanding this range of motors.
A glance at the data sheet almost suggests a revised version of the SyncDrive Move. Both the weight of 1.7 kilograms and the torque of 30 Newton metres are common to both units. However, this is more or less a coincidence. Giant has had the SyncDrive Move Plus completely newly developed. And explicitly for the Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite, its counterpart Liv Avial Advanced E+ Elite, which is specially designed for women, as well as all other rear-wheel drive e-road bikes that may follow. This time, Panasonic was not the co-operation partner. Instead, Giant worked together with another company from Asia. The manufacturer preferred to keep who that was to itself.
Not all torque is the same
What’s much more interesting for you is what the motor promises. Typical for a pedelec motor, its continuous rated power is 250 watts. The assistance is active up to the known speed limit of 25 kilometres per hour. Its torque of 30 Newton metres has already been mentioned. Giant adds that this is equivalent to a torque of 75 Newton metres for a mid-motor. With Mahle, a second drive manufacturer likes to specify two torques. Superficially, this is intended to ensure a certain degree of comparability. Beneath the surface, of course, there is also a certain marketing message. Neither Giant nor Mahle reveal how the equivalent values to the mid-motor are arrived at.
However, at least their mathematical approaches can be compared. Mahle says of its X20, for example, that 23 Newton metres would correspond to approximately 50 Newton metres of a mid-motor. This results in a ratio of 0.46. Giant equates the 30 Newton metres of the SyncDrive Move Plus to a torque of 75 Newton metres of a mid-motor. The result is 0.4, which at least looks as if the two calculations are not miles apart.
Motor should not feel like a motor
Once in the saddle, the numbers fade into the background and what matters is how the e-drive performs when riding. By its own admission, Giant is orientating itself on the riding experience you have on a road bike without electric assistance. The motor should come as close as possible to this. The manufacturer has therefore made smooth dosing one of its top priorities. From a standing start, the SyncDrive Move Plus should only kick in gradually and not give an unnatural push. In order to get the maximum out of it, in turn, higher pedalling frequencies are required, such as those pedalled by many on a ‘normal’ road bike, for example on a climb. As you approach the speed limit, the motor reduces its assistance again so that you are not abruptly slowed down when you push past the limit. Giant has also attached great importance to low pedalling resistance. In the best case scenario, you won’t even feel the slightest holdback when you’re comfortably doing kilometres with little pressure on the pedals or just coasting along.
How well this works can only be determined after a few kilometres with the new drive. In principle, the prerequisites are right. After all, it also features the tried and tested Smart Assist technology. This means that several sensors constantly measure not only the forces you apply to the pedals, but also the angle of inclination of the ebike, for example. The five riding modes Eco, Tour, Active, Sport and Power translate all this information into appropriate motor behaviour. In Power mode, this results in assistance of 450 per cent. However, this is only in situations in which the ebike system recognises that you are really pushing yourself but are only making slow progress. This can quickly happen on very steep climbs or in a headwind. Fortunately, you then enjoy the extra boost.
Easy to remove
So far, the new rear hub motor is similar to what other competitors offer. Whether it is perhaps already ahead at this point often depends on subjective perception. It definitely stands out the moment the ebike is stationary. Doesn’t matter, you might think. Well, it depends on the situation. If, for example, you want to remove the rear wheel because it is necessary for transport, the rear tyre needs to be replaced or you have had a flat, the SyncDrive Move Plus plays to another of its strengths. You don’t need to remove any cables or loosen any special nuts. To remove the wheel, simply remove the thru axle and take out the wheel. Nothing more. The easiest, quickest, cleanest and most convenient way to remove a rear wheel with maybe only the Mahle X20 and its connector matching this experience. All other manufacturers mean at least more effort, if not annoying fiddling and scrambling.
2. Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite
The Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite incorporates the motor with a Giant EnergyPak 400. The intube battery is permanently mounted in the down tube and should only be removed for servicing. It is based on size 22700 cells and was developed in collaboration with Panasonic. Some of you may already know it from the Giant Trance X Advanced E+ Elite e-mountainbike. With its weight of 2.3 kilograms, it is in the mid-range of what other manufacturers offer in this size category. Giant states its range as 100 kilometres. As you will be aware, this value depends on numerous factors and can therefore quickly vary by 20 per cent up or down.
You can certainly increase the range of the drive if you also opt for a range extender. In the case of the Giant EnergyPak Plus, 200 watt hours of capacity are added. That can easily be enough for another 50 kilometres. You can access the drive via the RideControl Go in the top tube. Its single button is used to switch the bike on and off as well as to change riding modes. Coloured LEDs on the control unit indicate which mode is currently selected and the remaining battery capacity. If you want an alternative behaviour for one or other of the riding modes, you can now adjust this using the RideControl app from Giant. Depending on whether you prefer to ride battery-friendly or want to feel the full power of the motor faster than intended, you can make individual adjustments.
Plenty of riding comfort despite carbon. Or precisely because of it?
All drive-related sophistication is of course in vain if the basic structure, i.e. the bike frame and other components, cannot keep up. With the Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite, there is not the slightest risk of this happening. The carbon frame is the result of years of experience that the manufacturer has gained with the Defy without an edrive. It works with different types of carbon and different layers in order to meet the special requirements of the different parts of the frame. More stable carbon in thicker layers where stability does not allow any compromises. Different shapes, thicknesses and lengths on the parts that should also yield to the forces applied in defined parameters. For example, extended seat stays absorb shocks and vibrations coming from the rear wheel so that they do not reach the rider. The carbon fork plays a similar role at the front of the bike.
Certain details are only noticeable to the trained eye. Others, however, are immediately apparent. These include the strongly curved seat post. According to Giant, it yields up to twelve millimetres in the curved area in the event of vibrations and thus increases riding comfort enormously. Absorbing such subtle shocks slows down muscle fatigue and pays off, especially on longer tours. This principle, called D-Fuse at Giant, can also be found in the handlebars of the e-road bike. The Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite can make even better use of this suspension thanks to the fact that the frame allows tyres up to 38 millimetres wide to be fitted. This feature emphasises the versatility of the bike. Such tyre widths, together with the riding comfort described above, open the way away from the road to the dirt track, forest path, gravel track – whatever.
Slightly limited model range in Europe
However, we have to play the spoilsport again. Or rather, Giant is playing it itself. In Europe, only variants of the Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite are being launched on the market, on which the manufacturer is sweeping out the pure e-road bike and relying on 28 millimetre or 32 millimetre wide road bike tyres throughout. In North America, interested parties can buy a model called the Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite AR. This features the aforementioned wide gravel tyres and a drivetrain with a single chainring.
In large parts of Europe, however, the model range includes the Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite 0, the Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite 1 and the Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite 2. All of them are equipped with electric wireless gears from Sram. The manufacturer even adds Sram Blips on top. If that doesn’t ring a bell, Sram Blips are additional buttons for AXS shifters that you can mount anywhere on the ebike. Press the Blip once – and the gears change the transmission as if you had operated the corresponding gear lever. Giant has mounted the blips on the new e-road bike slightly below the hoods on the inside of the handlebars. The top model, the Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite 0, is even more sophisticated and comes with Sram Bonus Buttons. These small additional buttons are integrated directly at the top of the inside of the hood. You can either use them to shift gears or as computer buttons by pairing them with a corresponding bike computer.
The gears and brakes on each model are consistently provided by a Sram groupset. In descending order from the top model, these are Sram Red AXS, Sram Force AXS and Sram Rival AXS. The carbon wheelsets on the Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite 0 and Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite 1 should also be mentioned. Ultimately, this results in a total weight of just over twelve kilograms for the top model and around 12.5 kilograms for the Elite 1. Or for those who are more interested in the figures in euros: 10,499 euros and 8,499 euros. The Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite 2 comes out on top on the scales at just under 14 kilograms – but at 6,499 euros it is the cheaper end of the scale.
All three bikes are available immediately in the five frame sizes S, M, M/L, L and XL.
Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite at a glance
- Variants: Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite 0, Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite 1, Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite 2
- Frame: Carbon
- Fork: Carbon
- Motor: Giant SyncDrive Move Plus
- Battery: Giant EnergyPak 400
- Control unit: Giant RideControl Go
- Drivetrain: Sram Red AXS, Sram Force AXS, Sram Rival eTap AXS
- Brakes: Sram Red AXS HRD, Sram Force AXS HRD, Sram Rival eTap AXS HRD
- Weight: from 12.25 kg (frame size M/L)
- Maximum permitted total weight: 110 kg
- Colours: Blue Dragonfly, Raw Carbon, Sea Sparkle
- Prices: from 6,499 euros
3. Liv Avail Advanced E+ Elite
Parallel to the Giant Defy Advanced E+ Elite model series, Giant presents the Liv Avail Advanced E+ Elite. As a reminder: Giant is the name of the bicycle manufacturer. This in turn operates on the market with the brands Giant, Liv and Momentum. Sorry, that can sometimes sound a bit confusing. Liv is the now firmly established brand with which Giant specifically targets women. Theoretically, the entire range of the Giant brand is mirrored once again. In practice, the range is not quite as extensive as the variety you will find at Giant.
However, the Liv Avail Advanced E+ Elite makes no compromises in this respect. It provides the same model depth. The Liv Avail Advanced E+ Elite 0, the Liv Avail Advanced E+ Elite 1 and the Liv Avail Advanced E+ Elite 2 all offer the same features as the respective Giant model. What we have said so far about the SyncDrive Move Plus and the other components of the e-road bikes applies equally to the Liv trio.
Different sizes and colours
The only differences are in terms of the frames. Their selection is reduced from five to four different sizes. In addition, the range starts with the smaller XS size and only goes up to L via S and M. Women of above-average height will probably have to look at the Giant range. At the same time, the models offer an option for men of smaller stature.
In addition to the size, the look of the frames differs, i.e. their paint finish. Liv not only chooses different colours, but also relies on a different concept. Two colours are always combined on the frame. The rear and lower part of the frame is painted in a dark colour, which changes to a lighter shade at the top and front. On the top model, the Liv Avail Advanced E+ Elite 0, this does not really come into its own. Here, a matt, dark Raw Carbon becomes a shiny Raw Carbon. The contrast is more pronounced on the Liv Avail Advanced E+ Elite 1 and Liv Avail Advanced E+ Elite 2.
Pronounced gender specificity
Hidden beneath the alternative colour concept you will find a completely independent frame. Its geometry differs in key points from that of the Giant models. One of these is the angle of the seat tube. This is a little steeper. Depending on the frame size, the differences settle at around half a degree. The head tube angle is slightly slacker by the same amount. In practice, this makes pedalling slightly more efficient when going uphill and offers more control downhill. Overall, you sit a little more stretched out on the Liv models across all sizes. This is quite an unusual approach, as other manufacturers usually take the opposite approach.
In addition to the pure geometry data, Liv also specifically adapts the Avail Advanced E+ Elite to the anatomical characteristics of the female body in terms of the components installed. Even if the handlebar width increases from one frame size to the next, for example, it is always less than the width of the corresponding Giant model. This continues with shorter stems and crank lengths. We also recognise an alternative saddle. This means that Liv’s women’s specificity goes far beyond the look of the bikes.
Liv Avail Advanced E+ Elite at a glance
- Variants: Liv Avail Advanced E+ Elite 0, Liv Avail Advanced E+ Elite 1, Liv Avail Advanced E+ Elite 2
- Frame: Carbon
- Fork: Carbon
- Motor: Giant SyncDrive Move Plus
- Battery: Giant EnergyPak 400
- Control unit: Giant RideControl Go
- Drivetrain: Sram Red AXS, Sram Force AXS, Sram Rival eTap AXS
- Brakes: Sram Red AXS HRD, Sram Force AXS HRD, Sram Rival eTap AXS HRD
- Weight: from 12.5 kg
- Maximum permitted total weight: 110 kg
- Colours: Gloss Raw Carbon/Matte Raw Carbon, Ice Age/Carbon smoke, Golden Haze/Carbon smoke
- Prices: from 6,499 euros
Pictures: Giant Germany GmbH; SRAM Deutschland GmbH